Site Records

SiteName: Barons' Cave

The Barons' Cave is part of Reigate
Castle, which was probably built by the second earl of Surrey, William de Warrenne,
soon after 1088. This castle consisted of a central mound surrounded by a dry
moat, with timber buildings and defences on the mound, or motte. In the 12th or
13th century, the timber structures were replaced with stone ones. The castle
was extended to the north and east by the creation of the outer ward, or outer
bailey, the original mound being the inner bailey. This new addition to the castle
was protected by a new wet moat, part of which survives, and by an extension of
the existing dry moat.

The castle was briefly held by Louis the French
Dauphin in 1216, on his march from Kent to Winchester. The castle became the property
of Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, in 1347, and from 1397 was owned by a variety of
Lords of the Manor of Reigate, including the influential Howard family. It was
occupied until the 16th century, but began to fall into disrepair thereafter.

During the time of Oliver Cromwell, the castle was briefly garrisoned by
followers of a Royalist uprising in 1648, and then by parliamentary troops after
the insurrection had been put down. There was no fighting at the castle, it was
just a convenient camp for the troops. None of the original castle buildings have
survived, with the exception of The Barons' Cave.

Nobody knows how old The Barons'
Cave is. The oldest reference to it dates from 1586 when Camden describes "an
extraordinary passage with a vaulted roof hewn with great labour out of the soft
stone." Doors and windows with a similar profile to the cave passages were being
built from about 1200 onwards, but we must be careful before drawing any conclusions
from this. Nobody is really sure why the cave was dug. It has been made with great
care - this can be seen in the way that the roof is so uniform and smooth. Where
sand diggers have been at work, the walls are much rougher.

Photo:Looking
towards the lower entrance which was still blocked in 1990 Photo by Nick
Catford

The cave is in three sections. There is a passage
which runs straight through from the centre of the castle mound to the bottom
of the dry moat. At the top end this is lined with Reigate stone, and it emerges
via a chamber roofed with brick vaulting, into the centre of the castle grounds,
under a stone pyramid. Bricks were not widely used in England until the 14th century,
so the brickwork at the top of the cave cannot date from a period earlier than
this. Near the bottom entrance, a short flight of steps drops down into a long
and tall curving passage, which ends suddenly in a solid wall. A curious stone
bench has been built around the base of the wall at this point.